St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-09-01
A LIFE TRAGEDY.

It's Sad Close I'm a New York Tenement.
A peculiarly sad case was that which
was laid bare at New York few days
ago. For several tdaysea terrible smell
had been issuing from two rooms on
the second floor of 81 Charles street,
which were occupied by Malvina r.
w. Payne, a widow, and her daughter,
Anna NJ. Payne, 30 years old. They
were supposed to be in the cOun try
and nothing was done to investigate
the cause of the smell until it became
intOlerable. Friday half a dozen peo-
pie in the vicinity reported the case at
a police station and Saturday the land
lord of the premises crawled upon a
fire-escape and peeped through the
shutters into the rooms. The sight he
saw almost made him faint. He rush
ed back screaming that the two wo-
men were dead on the bed. Police
Captain Copeland at once had the door
broken open, and a sad spectacle met
the gaze of the persons who rushed
into the room. Clasped in each 9th
er's arms lay Mrs. Payne, and her
daughter, dead and decOmposed to
such degree that they were almost
uprecOgnizable. AS soon as the bodies
could be handled at all, Capt. Cope
land made an investigation. He found
terrible cash in the right arm OF
each, above the elbow, and beside the
bed, on the floor, lay large bottle
which had contained mixture of ar
senic, morphine and laudanum. The
bottle had been nearly emptied. Blood
was spattered all over. A razor lay in
pool of CONCEALED blood OIL cane
seated chair. This was evidently the
weapon with which the women had
first tried to kill themselves. The fol-
lowing letter, addressed to Miss III. A.
Weed, sister of the late ThurlOw
Weed, was found by the bed, the first
half written by the daughter and the
last by the mother:
Dear Friend: If anything happens
that we are both found dead, will you
see that we are buried in the Albany
rural cemetery in Oaken caskets My
mother has $I9I in the Bleeker-street
bank for savings. have money in
the above bank also in the BOwery
savings bank and the Dry Dock saw
ings bank on Third avenue. These
amounts will pay all expense, and
what is left after the funeral expenses
have been paid we both wish to be
spent in taking care of the cemetery
lot at Albany. We have saved this
money to purchase little homestead:
but that is all hopeless now. We are
both helpless now as to our minds.
We are not fit to care for ourselves.
The contents of our home are to be
given to the poor. Do please crafty
these last requests, and may God for
give us, for we were driven to it. We
are all alone, no one to care for us.
You and your dear father have been
our only friends. l want to rest with
my children. My darling daughter
preferred death to being separated
from her mother. We worship each
other. We cannot be separated. My
darling is almost raving mad. For
give, forgive us, fer only God knows
how we suffer.
1t is learned that the husband and
father died 20 years ago leaving his
wife and two children, boy and girl.
These three soon moved into the
Charles street tenement where they
had lived in the most retired manner
ever since. The girl taught in ono OF
the public schools no one ever knew
what the boy did and the mother was
rarely seen. A few months ago the
boy was killed and less was seen of
the family after that than ever. Since
the schools closed the daughter re-
manned at home secluded with her
mother. A week ago Miss Anna told
a neighbor that she and her mother
were going into the country the next
day. They were never seen alive
again.